— As world records 212,000 new cases 

By Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale

WITH 2,892 new cases, Nigeria has been ranked 3rd among African countries with the highest burden of leprosy  according to the latest the World Health Organisation’s Global Health Observatory Data repository, with says no fewer than 212,000 persons were newly affected by leprosy globally in 2015.

Over the last 10 years, according to the Global Health Observatory Data Repository,  Nigeria recorded a total of  43,179 cases.

The Data Repository which looked at reported cases country by country, showed that other Africa countries with the highest and 2nd highest burden of leprosy respectively are Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, with 4, 237 cases, and Ethiopia, 3,970.

Over the past decade, DRC had 62,845 cases while Ethiopia recorded 47,304 cases.

On January 29, at the commemoration of the 64th Anniversary of World Leprosy Day, with the theme: “Zero Disability Among Children Affected by Leprosy” the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole said that leprosy still posed a challenge due to the pockets of high endemicity in Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, Bauchi, Taraba, Niger, Kogi, Ebonyi, Abia, Cross River, Edo, Osun, Ogun and Lagos States.

New cases

“Of utmost concern is the existence of new leprosy cases that are reported each year among the general population, including children and those with grade 2 disability.”

“In 1998, after the introduction of the Multi- Drug Therapy (MDT), Nigeria achieved WHO’S elimination target of less than one case per 10,000 population at the national level, saying lateness in presenting cases at the health care facilities made matters worse.

He noted that the “mistaken beliefs about the disease” being highly contagious, hereditary and heaven’s punishment have negatively affected persons with leprosy even after they are cured, “Of 2,892 leprosy cases reported in 2015, nine per cent was made up of children, while victims with “grade II disability” accounted for 15 per cent.”

Adewole said the Federal Government had launched a five-year National Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Strategic Plan (2016-2020) as part of its efforts to eliminate the disease in the endemic states.

Speaking on the Day, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh called for renewed commitments and the need for countries to scale up efforts towards eradicating the disease.

Khetrapal Singh further stressed that an inclusive approach is needed to end the scourge of leprosy  that have continued to afflict thousands of people every year,  adding that,  the majority of them are in the WHO South-East Asia Region.

“Leprosy affected 212 000 more people globally in 2015. Of them 60 percent were in India. The other high-burden countries were Brazil and Indonesia. Of the new cases 8.9 percent were children and 6.7 percent presented with visible deformities,” Khetrapal Singh stated.

Despite being eliminated globally as a public health problem in 2000, leprosy continues to mar the lives of individuals, and impacts families and communities. Though present numbers are a fraction of what was reported a decade ago, they are unacceptable, as an effective treatment for leprosy – multidrug therapy, or MDT – has been available since the 1980s and can fully cure leprosy.

Known as Hansen’s Disease, leprosy is caused by a type of bacteria otherwise known as mycobacterium leprae and is known to multiply very slowly. Its incubation period is said to be between 5 years while symptoms can take 20 years to appear and it mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves.

Throughout its history, leprosy has been feared and misunderstood with several mythical and cultural undertone attached to it. For a long time, it was thought to be a hereditary disease, a curse, or a punishment from God as there are stories in the Bible that suggests this.

Before and even after the discovery of its biological cause, leprosy patients were stigmatized and shunned. Contrary to social stigma, it is not highly contagious, and does not cause body parts to fall off.